


Two Halves

by StackerPentecost



Series: Feral AU [1]
Category: The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Enemies to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:20:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24757654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StackerPentecost/pseuds/StackerPentecost
Summary: Frank has been denying his true nature for too long and Billy's going to change that. After all, love and hate aren't all that different.---A request for Brank + "Is that what you think of me?"
Relationships: Frank Castle/Billy Russo
Series: Feral AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1794865
Comments: 3
Kudos: 34





	Two Halves

**Author's Note:**

> Season 2 ended like this, it totally did and you can't convince me otherwise. This also gives me the same vibe as the song Skeletons by New Years Day.

Frank’s been unconscious for exactly two hours and twelve minutes. Billy knew this because he’d been keeping track, anxiously pacing back and forth in front of the other man, debating back and forth if he should wake him up as his patience is wearing a little thin. He hadn’t expected the chloroform to be so damn effective. 

Just as he was about to give Frank a poke with his knife, Frank began to stir, inhaling deeply as he lifted his head, his eyes fluttering open. Frank glanced around, taking in his surroundings. Billy had brought him back to one of the many safehouses he’d used over the years. At least this one didn’t smell too bad and was decently furnished, more starter apartment than dank warehouse. 

Billy had taken Frank mid-battle, fighting his way to him before pouncing out of the shadows when he least expected it. When he finally got Frank back to the apartment, he made sure he was tied securely to a chair before heading into the bathroom to wash the blood off his body. Now he stood before Frank in a fresh sweater and dark jeans, the scent of his sandalwood body wash filling Frank’s nose. 

Frank tested his bonds and found they were snug, so there was little point in struggling. After a long beat of silence, he asked, “What do you want with me, Bill? You bring me here to finish what I started?” 

“Is that why you’ve been keeping tabs on me?”   


Frank’s face remained neutral but Billy noticed the slight tick in his jaw. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh yeah, that’s why you’ve been following me and keeping an eye on me. Face it, Frank, if you wanted me dead, I’d already be six feet under.” 

Frank’s lip curled and he shook his head vehemently. “I had to watch you. You’re a monster.”

Billy had to bite back a laugh. “Have you looked in the mirror lately, Frankie?”

Frank bristled at this, those big brown eyes dark and stormy as he glared at Billy. “Is that what you think of me?” He asked, his voice a deep growl.

“Of course I do, Frank. You wanna know why? Because I know I’m a monster. I know I’m twisted and I know, no matter how much you put up the tough guy, heroic act, I know you’re the same as me. You and I, Frankie, we are cut from the same cloth. Two halves of the same coin -”

“Shut up! I am nothing like you! You are a selfish, egotistical, greedy bastard! I...I am not perfect, but at least I know at the end of the day, that what I’m doing is the right thing. I don’t know how you sleep at night.”

A smirk pulled at the corner of Billy’s mouth. “I sleep like a damn baby. You would too if you’d just let all that shit that you’ve done go, if you’d just accept what you know you truly are.” Billy stepped closer, reaching a hand out to cup Frank’s cheek, an almost gentleness to his touch. “Don’t you miss me?” He asked, head tilted to one side as he observed Frank’s every move. “You didn’t bash all the memories out of my head. You think I don’t remember what we did? You think I don’t remember how you looked at me? How you touched me?” He brushed his thumb across Frank’s cheekbone. “Sometimes, I think I’m incapable of love, of affection. But then I remember what it was like to be with you. And I wonder.” 

Frank watched the way those obsidian eyes softened, just the barest hint of light piercing their dark depths. It made Frank’s heart speed up in his chest and he internally swore. He knew he couldn’t let Billy get to him like this, like he was trying to do. The part of him that Billy was appealing to was something he’d locked away a long time ago. He refused to let it out again. 

Frank jerked away from Billy’s touch, shutting himself off, his expression turning utterly cold and blank. In response, Billy did the same, pulling himself away and stepping back. 

“That was a mistake. You were a mistake. I should have never let myself get close to you.” Frank grunted, trying to keep his voice even but unable to betray the roiling emotions just beneath the surface. 

“You really should stop lying to yourself, it’s not healthy.” Billy hated that Frank’s words stung, even if he knew they weren’t the truth. 

“You’re the one lying to yourself, thinking you’re anything but a waste of space.” 

Billy licked his lips, that predatory gaze returning to his face. “If I’m such a waste of space, why didn’t you just kill me when you had the chance? Or stop following me and come finish the job? It wouldn’t have been that hard for you. And yet, I’m still here.” Billy shook his head. “It’s almost like you want me alive.”

Frank, for the first time, jerked against his bonds, his expression full of rage. It did no good, as Billy had thought of this and nailed the chair to the floor. Still, he bared his teeth, eyes burning with anger. “You’re right! I should’ve killed you when I had the chance! But I didn’t! I was weak! And everyday I pay for it!”

“You are not weak, Frank. You didn’t kill me because you didn’t want to kill me. You still don’t, because you know exactly how things should be and if you kill me, you lose the chance to give yourself the life you want, to give in to your baser instincts and stop listening to your warped sense of morality.” Billy moved closer again, eyes still trained on Frank. “Aren’t you tired? Tired of caring about what’s right and what’s wrong? Isn’t it tedious and exhausting to live in this arbitrary box of rules?” 

Frank stopped fighting his restraints, but he still looked at Billy with open hostility. 

“Do you remember what you used to say before, when it was just the two of us? Do you remember, Frank?” When Billy received no response, he answered his own question. “You used to say, ‘It’s you and me against the world. No one matters but us.’ I still believe that. I never stopped believing that. I never stopped believing in us.” 

After a quiet moment, all the fight in Frank drained from his body and he sank back against the chair, Billy’s words echoing in his head over and over. 

He’d made a promise to himself that he would try to be a good person, to deny his lesser instincts. But who was he kidding? He had failed. He was still as much a savage as he had always been, he just kept slapping a label on his actions, as though killing wasn’t still killing no matter what way you looked at. And everything Billy was saying was right. He hated denying his true nature and pretending to be something he wasn’t. He was no hero, he never had been and he never would be. And, as he gazed up at the man who he’d spent most of his life beside, he found that despite the lingering anger and resentment, he still felt that same connection he always had. That once in a lifetime spark that few people had a chance to experience. 

“What do you want from me?” Frank finally asked, his voice surprisingly calm.

Billy noticed his change in demeanor and immediately seized on it. With the utmost grace, he settled himself into Frank’s lap, his arms linking around his neck. “I don’t want anything from you, Frankie. The only thing I want, is you, wholly and completely. Every bit of you, down to the deepest, darkest parts that you don’t want anyone to see. Because I love you, one black soul to another.” His lips hinted at a smile, a genuine one. 

No one had ever been so willing to accept everything that he was. No one knew the evil things he had done and loved him anyway. No one saw the beast of a man at his core and did not flinch. No one, but Billy. 

The kiss took Billy by surprise, especially when Frank nipped at his lip and licked into his mouth. It was all teeth and tongue, dirty and devilish and everything Billy wanted. And at that moment, he knew he’d won. 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm saintaleksander on Tumblr.


End file.
